Originally Published MDDI January 2003

NEWSTRENDS

Lori Bryan

The Independent Medical Distributors Association (IMDA; Mission, KS) is inviting device makers to join its ranks. IMDA members—sales, marketing, and distribution firms that bring products to market—voted in September to admit manufacturers as nonvoting allied members.

David R. Campbell, IMDA president, believes more distributors can be attracted, and its impact on industry enhanced as manufacturers are admitted. The policy change will help manufacturers get to know distributors better, and vice versa, Campbell says. "Over the years, I've felt the relationship between device manufacturers and our members hasn't been as intimate as it should be," says Campbell. He adds, "the ways in which the device business has changed, group purchasing [being one of them], make it more difficult for the smaller firms to get their products to market." Bringing these groups together, says Campbell, will create opportunities.

Manufacturer members will have the chance to connect with firms offering outsourced sales and marketing services at IMDA's conferences and annual Manufacturers Forum. "By coming to our conferences, device manufacturers will be strides ahead," Campbell says. "They can [discover] who the players are and come away with networking opportunities."

Such information exchange may be most appealing to smaller firms with fewer resources, but membership is open to any manufacturer that meets the membership criteria of IMDA's bylaws, Campbell says. While Campbell doesn't expect major players like Johnson & Johnson or U.S. Surgical to seek membership, he doesn't rule it out either. "Many but not all larger manufacturers have direct sales forces that perform the selling function, and [they] may not feel the need for services from IMDA members," he says. "However, some larger firms are recognizing the attractiveness of specialty distributors and representatives for certain product lines or certain technologies, and have developed hybrid sales organizations to address all sectors of their markets."

In addition to networking, manufacturers joining IMDA can expect other benefits, Campbell says. These include access to products liability and other types of insurance, as well as to the discount services of a legal firm specializing in medical manufacturing, distribution, and representation issues.

At press time, IMDA was planning a direct-mail campaign to manufacturers around the first of the new year. For more information on IMDA, visit the organization's Web site at www.imda.org, or call the membership chairman at 800/398-5632.

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